Good …

rain_window … isn’t always as clear as I think.

For me, one of the absolute principles of scripture is Romans 8:28:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose.

I believe that. It’s been my source of hope in some dark moments when I could find no reason to continue the struggle. However, I suspect that I tend to see this wonderful assurance through a distorted lens.

I suspect that my perceptions of “good” mostly translate to “what I want.”

Lots of money = good; less money = not good
Easy = good; difficult = not good
My team wins = good; the other team wins = not good

You get the idea. If I like it and it benefits me, it’s good.

I once heard a pastor from a rural North Dakota church tell a story that made me re-think my often self-centered notion of good.

The farms surrounding his church were struggling through a prolonged dry period. If rain didn’t come soon, an entire year’s crops would be lost.

So the pastor prayed for rain. A few days later it rained. And for the rest of the summer, rain was frequent and plentiful. The farmers harvested record crops, and the pastor thanked God for answering his prayers.

God had been good.

One day as winter approached one of his parishioners appeared in the office in great distress. His business was on the brink of failure.

The man ran a large contracting company that did road paving work. The season for this work in North Dakota is relatively short, and excessive rain had prevented him from completing contracted obligations.

Long-time employees who depended on his company for income and benefits were in danger of losing their jobs. Roads would deteriorate over the winter from lack of maintenance, leading to increased taxes for everyone in the county.

As he scrambled for a way to keep his business afloat until the following summer, he asked the pastor to pray for good weather. To avoid disaster, he needed an exceptionally productive season.

Good … isn’t always as clear as I think.

For me, this story’s a reminder that my perception of good is often pretty narrow and sometimes downright selfish. I believe God always works for good, even when I don’t see it. There’s a huge element of faith and trust that too frequently gets lost in my myopic view of events.

Tomorrow I want to look at what seems to me to be the flip side of this question. For now, I’ll leave you to ponder this quote:

We say that God is such a good God because it didn’t rain on our Sunday School picnic. But He was still a good God when He allowed me to watch my sister, Betsie, die in a concentration camp.
Corrie ten Boom

Is there any place in your life where “good” might be defined a little too narrowly?